Assinatura geoquímica do ouro na Província Mineral do Tapajós, Cráton Amazônico: o exemplo dos depósitos São Jorge e São Chico

Abstract

Gold has a great economic importance, and the determination of its geochemical and isotopic signatures, exploited in Brazil’s main mineral provinces, has become a valuable tool not only for mineral exploration but also for tracing its origin and circulation. The aim of this study is to characterize and compare the chemical composition of gold from two different deposits using scanning electron microscopy paired with energy-dispersive spectrometry (SEM‑EDS), to evaluate the viability in differentiating provenance on local and regional scales, and to discuss the factors controlling element distribution in native gold. São Jorge and São Chico are gold deposits located in the eastern portion of Tapajos Mineral Province, aligned along the Tocantinzinho lineament (WNW‑ESE). The gold mineralization at São Jorge deposit consists of a paragenesis formed by gold + pyrite + chalcopyrite ± sphalerite and, rarely, galena, which host two generations of gold with distinct chemical compositions. These gold phases occur either in quartz veins and/or in sulfide disseminations in strongly hydrothermally altered host rocks. In this deposit, gold is mainly hosted by pyrite, occurring in the form of inclusions with high Au contents (84.27–91.02 wt%) and filling pyrite fractures with a composition richer in Ag (7.86–15.72 wt%). The geochemical and textural differences indicate at least two distinct mineralizing events. In contrast, the São Chico deposit shows a paragenesis formed by gold + pyrite + galena + sphalerite ± chalcopyrite, in which gold occurs as electrum within polymetallic sulfide‑bearing quartz vein systems. Here, gold is mainly hosted by galena, and textural relationships between these two minerals suggest simultaneous precipitation under low‑temperature conditions. Gold in this deposit also occurs with chalcopyrite and sphalerite, as reflected in its chemical composition, which shows higher average of Cu (0.44 wt%) and Zn (0.42wt%) contents, respectively. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified Ag, Fe, and Te as the elements with the greatest potential for gold discrimination between these two deposits. Gold microparticles from the São Jorge deposit exhibits a geochemical signature with higher contents of Au (73.82–91.02 wt%), Fe (0.54–6.21 wt%), and Te (0.37–3.61 wt%), compared to gold from the São Chico deposit, which displays higher concentrations of Ag (29.82–51.42 wt%).